


A Witch's Familiar

by Lexitennant2



Category: NCIS
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magic, Familiars, M/M, Magik - Freeform, Spellcasting, Witches, caitlin todd lives
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-06
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-18 04:53:55
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 22,071
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29237889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lexitennant2/pseuds/Lexitennant2
Summary: Jethro has kept his double life a secret for the last 12 years, ever since his magical side led to the death of his wife and daughter. Now, a witch intent on making him hers is hunting him down as well as everyone he knows and loves.With not much time on the clock will Jethro be able to stop a power hungry witch from taking more people from him?
Relationships: Anthony DiNozzo/Jethro Gibbs
Comments: 5
Kudos: 41





	1. A Witch's Familiar

**Author's Note:**

> This will be updated every Monday. I had the first chapter sitting in my drafts for a while so I decided why not post it now : )  
> I enjoy all comments and kudos <3 
> 
> I've also taken some liberties with spells and their meanings as I myself am not a practicing witch. I hope I don't offend anyone with how I use it.
> 
> This is a universe where Caitlin Todd lives because as much as I love Ziva, Caitlin is a special character for me. Just want to clear that up because even though there's no direct time mentioned Jenny Shepard is the director and I know Caitlin died before she met Shepard. That dynamic woulda been worth seeing though.

_ The grass was cool and wet under his bare feet, and he took a moment to glare accusedly at the ground, as if it was its own fault and not the heavy rain that had ended half an hour ago. _

_ There was a full moon tonight so he used that to light his path, instead of using a flashlight which would draw attention to him. _

_ He came across the now familiar cottage and rapped his knuckles against the door three times and wiped his feet off on the porch to get any mud or grass off his feet. _

_ He had wanted to keep his boots on but she had said that he needed to keep them off the minute he stepped on her property. So after traveling the couple miles out of Stillwater on bike, and heading to the woods - that separated his home town from every other town - he came across the only Birch tree, about a mile deep into the forest and took off his shoes, carrying them in his hand. _

_ The door opened slowly and he was hit with the smell of cinnamon and sawdust. It was much warmer inside, so he quickly shut the door once he was in, so the chill from outside wouldn’t come follow him.  _

_ “Oh darling, I knew you wouldn’t let me down!”  _

_ There was a clatter from the upstairs part of the cottage and then the sound of feet slamming down the wooden stairs.  _

_ The woman in front of him skidded to a stop a few feet away, her grin blinding. He could see the gold aura that surrounded her body intensifying. There was a time that he would ignore that gold glow, or any other glow that crossed his path. There was a time where he forced himself to avoid any and all who claimed they had a spiritual sense, just in case they weren’t fakes and would be able to tell he had the gift as well. _

_ “How could I?” He said cheekily, smirking a little when she bounced in place with excitement. He winced when the bruise on his jaw twinged at the sudden quirk of his mouth. _

_ She was immediately frowning, and her gold aura flashed with red. _

_ “They hurt you again.” She growled. In the beginning he hadn’t been able to keep up with her mood swings. She was awfully protective of those that she cared for and he wasn’t used to that kind of affection since his mother died. _

_ “Jack scared them off with the shotgun again,” he started to wave off her worry, but she was stubborn and he reluctantly let her place her hand against his jaw. It instantly felt warm and the smell of cinnamon and sawdust intensified, as did her aura, and he knew without having to look that the bruise was gone. She nodded her approval and motioned for him to sit down on a high backed purple chair that was nestled into the corner where the fireplace was. _

_ “Let’s get started then Jethro.” She walked towards the stairs and opened the door that was under them. _

_ He flushed slightly. Only she and his mother had called him Jethro, and in all honesty he preferred that much more than Leroy. _

_ Jethro made himself comfortable in the chair and set his shoes down beside the fire. He watched with amusement as the woman stood on her tiptoes to reach at the far back of the highest shelf inside the closet.  _

_ She was a strangely built girl, not that he minded, it made her more endearing to him. She was maybe three inches taller than him - but that was mostly due to the shoes she always wore, he couldn’t tell how high the heels were because they were always covered by her long skirts or dresses, so her actual height was a mystery - which made a lot of the other townspeople weary of her. Add in two different colored eyes - one green the other yellow - her dark skin tone, and sharp teeth and you get the reason why she was living on the outskirts of town. _

_ There was also the fact that she was a witch. _

_ And those teeth were actually really sharp; shark sharp.  _

_ She walked over to him with a large grin and sat crisscrossed down on the woven rug that covered most of the cottages front room. _

_ She gently set down all the things she’d grabbed from the closet, some things he recognized; a jar of Marigold petals, two feathers, and a silver chain that had a symbol that he’d seen tattooed on her thigh . There was also a small stone mortar and pestle. The stuff he didn’t recognize were various colored liquids in different shapes of vials, and a jar of strange white pieces that he had a bad feeling were bones. _

_ She reached into her skirt pocket and pulled out a crumpled, yellowed piece of paper, and a pen. She unfolded it and set it between them and pointed at the spot next to her. Jethro moved to sit beside her, copying her position.  _

_ “Now this is going to hurt, I warned you before.” She made him roll up the sleeves of his flannel shirt and he gritted his teeth as she poured some foul smelling liquid from one of the vials onto his forearms. The cherry red liquid spilled on his clothing and the floor as she gave no care to how she applied the liquid. The red substance vanished as soon as it touched anything but his skin, and the smell disappeared just as quickly. _

_ Jethro stared at his forearms that were now dyed red, and then turned his attention to watch her apply the same treatment to her own forearms. _

_ “Last chance to back out.” _

_ “I wouldn’t be here if I had doubts.” _

_ She pointed at the paper and explained that he was to say the lines written in black and she would say the ones in red. She also told him that finding a spell for a human was very hard and he better not mess it up. _

_ He scoffed and waited patiently as she took the pen and started drawing the symbol he’d become associated to seeing on her, onto his forearms, right in the middle of the red dye. It was a simplistic sigil but he knew it was important to her. _

_ “This will mark you as mine, you are signing yourself over to me. As long as I am alive you will serve me and do my will. Do you consent?” _

_ Jethro nodded as she finished the last swirl. _

_ “Verbalize your answer.” _

_ “I consent.” _

_ “Now you must draw the sigil on my arms.” _

_ He did just so and she hummed with satisfaction. He felt a slight sting and the lines of the sigils on his arms began to glow the same gold as her aura. _

_ The smell of sawdust and cinnamon intensified between the two of them. He knew it was her magik. She had told him when they’d first met that every supernatural being had an aura, and any magik user had a specific smell when their magik was used. She also said the smell usually lingered without the use of magik, it became part of the user. _

_ “Ok, now visualize this sigil where you want it.” _

_ His first thought was having it on the inside of his right thigh. It would match hers, and in a way it was comforting to have something he knew was special in such an intimate place because only certain people would be able to see it. _

_ “Now we shall begin.” _

_ She shifted so they were touching knee to knee and grabbed his hands so she was holding over where their legs touched. _

_ “I, Agatha Medea Demdike, take Leroy Jethro Gibbs as my familiar.” _

_ “I Leroy Jethro Gibbs, take Agatha Medea Demdike as my only, she is my Witch and I her familiar.” _

_ The slight sting was beginning to increase and Jethro gritted his teeth. He wasn't going to back out now, he hadn't spent an entire week reading all the nooks on familiars that Agatha owned to give up now.  _

_ “My magik is your magik, your actions are my thoughts, for now we shall be bound as one. I shall be your energy and life, and you shall be my will and be by my side.” _

_ Their eyes met and he watched with fascination as her green eye became tinged with yellow, and her yellow eye became tinged with green. As if her eyes were mixing together. _

_ “Do you take me as your Witch, as your mistress?” _

_ “I do.” _

_ “Do you allow me to care for you, protect you, love you.” _

_ “I do.” _

_ “Do you promise to care for me, protect me, and love me?” _

_ “I do.” _

_ There was no more stinging but a fire in his veins. The pain was building to a crescendo with each second and it was spreading. _

_ She released their hands and grabbed the jar of Marigolds. _

_ “Three flowers of my namesake.” She dumped three petals into the bowl and set the jar aside. She grabbed a vial with brown liquid in it that had little pieces that he recognized as wood shavings.  _

_ “A piece of me.” _

_ She dumped the entire vial in and drenched the petals. She added a green jelly like substance and then the two feathers. _

_ “Blood from a Dryad, and wings of a crow, to stay in tune with nature and your surroundings.” _

_ She used the pestle and mashed everything together, into a red-orange paste. She then grabbed the jar with what he thought was bones and unscrewed it and took some time taking out and inspecting the bones.  _

_ “The canines of a dog and cat, for independence and protection. The tarsal of a rabbit, for secrecy. The thumb of a bat for skill, and finally, an owl’s talon for heightened senses and awareness.” _

_ She mashed all the bones she’d placed into the mortar with no problem at all and the pain became even more intense. He could feel a headache forming as well. _

_ She dipped her finger inside the paste and traced the sigils on his arms, she then scooped a larger portion and lifted her hand up to his mouth. _

_ “You must eat it.” _

_ He looked at her with a shocked and disgusted expression, but she just stared at him with her strangely mixed eyes that now stood out even more against her charcoal colored skin. _

_ He ate the paste out of her palm, wanting to gag it all up as it went down his throat.  _

_ There was a moment where he felt nothing, he was numb. The pain had vanished and his vision tunneled and all he saw was Agatha. He didn’t need the paper anymore, he knew what to say. _

_ “You are my familiar now, you are my protector and friend. We will love each other more than lovers, or a mother and her son.” She cupped his chin with the hand not covered in paste, and with the paste covered hand she tugged on his hair. He didn’t even feel it. She did the same to her own head and then she had two pieces of hair in her palm, mixing with the paste.  _

_ She licked the paste and hair all up and he inwardly shuddered. _

_ “I am your familiar Agatha. Forever and always.” _

_ She smiled, and ran her tongue over her sharp teeth before diving forward. She kissed him harshly, her lips tasted slightly of the paste and he felt some kind of energy crackling between them. She was now cupping his face with both hands and she pressed her tongue against his lips, and he opened willingly. He brushed his tongue against her sharp teeth and her grip tightened on him. She easily dominated the kiss, and the pain was slowly starting to begin again. _

_ “Imagine where you want the sigil, just focus on that.” Agatha said as she pulled away. She placed her hand flat against his chest and pushed him slowly down so he was lying flat on his back. The pain was starting from the sigils on his arm, and was traveling upwards and onwards. Every part of his body was on fire, and he twisted his body, trying to rid the fire from his veins. He could feel her working her magik as his body began heating up, and he heard her soothing voice, which made him calm somewhat, but then the pain was back and blinding and he let out an agonizing scream. _

_______________________________________________

“You got something Abs?” Gibbs asked the forensic scientist, coming up behind her with a Cafpow ready in his hand.

“That’s a silly question Gibbs, I always have something for you.” She gave him a megawatt smile and pointed to her screen.

“This is what killed our Petty Officer Williams. Guess what it is.”

He looked at the screen and back to Abby, his eyebrow raised with slight impatience.

“Just tell me Abby, or no Cafpow.” He moved his hand out of reach and her eyes followed the drink with a pout on her lips.

“You’re no fun, but to answer your question this is Ambrosia, or Ambrosia dumosa, not the food of the Gods but your typical Ragweed, the stuff of allergy nightmares.”

“He died from a common allergen?”

“Yup, that’s why his face and throat were so swollen. Ambrosia dumosa is usually found in Mojave desert, and the Sonoran desert, which should make it easier to trace on someone. Though the sample Ducky took from Williams throat and lungs had some weird stuff mixed with it.”

He waited patiently for her to explain and shook the Cafpow a little to get her on track.

“Well, there was the Ragweed of course, but also a mixture of charcoal, yew tree seeds, and moth wings.”

Gibbs struggled to maintain his composure as Abby clicked an image with her mouse.

“It was also found in his stomach, in a paste. So he ate this concoction and breathed it in. We found some traces of it in his nostrils as well. That is just bizarre.”

Abby turned to him and waited patiently for the Cafpow to reach her outstretched hand but Gibbs had a far off look on his face, and he was squeezing the drink tightly in his hand.

“Gibbs?” She asked, feeling uneasy at his lack of response.

He jerked backwards in a very unnatural way and thrust the Cafpow into her hand as if it had scalded his hand.

“Good work Abs.” He cleared his throat and leaned over to give her a quick peck on the cheek before leaving the lab.

****

“And he just left.” Abby said, swirling a piece of spaghetti around her fork.

McGee furrowed his eyebrows. “Something got to him then, is he allergic to Ragweed?”

Tony gave a short and sharp laugh. “Gibbs!? Allergic to something? Allergens are allergic to him not the other way around probie.”

Kate smiled over her veggie wrap and took a generous bite. After she had swallowed she mentioned that she’d seen Gibbs with a worried expression on his face heading for Shepard’s office.

“How long ago was that?” McGee asked, setting down his meatball sub.

Tony also set down his own meatball sub -- with extra cheese -- and felt an uneasy pit in his stomach.

“Worried expression?” He asked. Gibbs showing any kind of emotion always put Tony on edge. 

“About ten minutes ago, right before McGee appeared with lunch.” She took another bite from her veggie wrap, finishing it, and then busying herself with tidying up any crumbs that fell outside the wax paper that was spread out on the table.

“It shocked me too, to see him look worried. Something about this case is rubbing him wrong and I wish he could just tell us.” She frowned and ran a frustrated hand through her hair.

“The bossman will tell us, just give him time.” Abby said, placing a reassuring hand on her friends shoulder.

Tony stood abruptly and headed out of the breakroom. Kate hurried after, making sure she threw her food away first. Abby motioned for McGee to leave with them, telling him that she would clean up after everyone. He gave her a nod of thanks and rushed after the other agents.

_______________________________________________

Jethro walked out of the office with mixed feelings. On one hand he was pleased Jenny was trusting enough to let him consult someone outside the agency about the case, - he'd had to play twenty questions with her as per usual but luck was on his side and she'd still allowed his vague responses to be enough to warrant outside help - on the other hand he now  _ had  _ to consult this person and hope they would help.

He almost ran into his team, who were all hovering outside Shepard’s door. He threw Cynthia a look but she just shrugged her shoulders.

“Are you alright?” Tony asked, shocking Jethro. Was his unease that hard to hide?

“Fine DiNozzo.” He said gruffly, walking around the trio and towards the stairs. They all followed, clearly wanting to talk to him about something.

“Well, spit it out.” He said once he was sitting at his desk and his agents were hovering nervously around him.

He watched Kate jab Tony in the rib and hid his amused smile with a careful movement of his hand. 

“Abby said you looked...worried earlier.” 

Jethro gave Tony his best neutral look.

“Worried?”

“Yeah, she said that you totally freaked out when she mentioned what they found in Petty officer Williams.” He was on a roll, Gibbs could feel it. “Made it sound like you were a pod person, showed actual emotions. You’ve seen  _ Invasion of the Body Snatchers _ right Boss?”

“DiNozzo.” Jethro snapped. “I’m not a robot, I do have _emotions._ ” He spat the words out like it was poison. 

Tony had the decency to look a little ashamed. “Sorry boss, but you being worried is usually a big red flag for us.”

Jethro sighed and leaned his elbows on his desk. He would have to inform them about what was happening, he knew that but he didn’t want to have to do this. Doing so would change everything within their team. 

“I’ll explain everything later tonight, I want you all at my house at 8pm.” He breezed past their shocked faces and gave them a pointed look. “Now, let’s go over everything that we have on Petty Officer Williams.”

His agents all snapped to it and headed to their desks to grab their notes. Tony lingered a second longer though and gave Jethro a calculated gaze.

“You sure you’re ok boss?” He asked softly.

Jethro didn’t want to admit it but he liked it when Tony worried about him. He might actually like it too much.

He nodded his head and Tony was back at his own desk in a flash.

McGee turned on the screen between his desk and Tony’s and handed the clicker over to Kate. The three agents stood in front of the screen and waited patiently for their boss. Once Jethro was standing beside Kate, McGee pressed another key and the Petty Officers face was on the screen.

“Petty Officer Henry Williams, 32, was found in his bed at 10am earlier this morning by his wife, Sharon, who had just returned from an overnight stay at her friend Bella Jackson’s house. Actual time of death was 3am.” Kate said.

Jethro frowned. Of course it was 3am. This witch was sticking with the cliches.

“Cause of death was an extreme allergic reaction to Ragweed. There were also trace amounts of charcoal, yew tree seeds and …..moth wings?” Tony stumbled on the last part. 

Jethro grunted, not wanting to mention that moth wings were the least of the agents problems.

“If we look at this from a poisoning perspective, we know that the killer must have been planning this for a while. We’re looking for someone who’s self-centered, craves control, and has problems with authority", Kate said putting her profiler background to good use.

Jethro turned to McGee, signaling it was his turn. Kate had described multiple witches down to a T, so he was almost positive this was a witch killing. Though, rule number eight. Never assume.

“All her financial accords are set. No large cash withdrawals or strange deposits on his account. But that’s just his account and his joint account with his wife. His wife has an offshore account that’s all hers.”

Kate used the clicker and the screen showed Sharon’s account but it was under the name of Fiona de la Barthe. 

Jethro paled at the name.

“de la Barthe? That has got to be the worst alias of all time, I mean what kind of idiot..” Tony trailed off when he looked at his boss.

“Boss?” He asked, his eyes widening with worry.

Jethro felt ill, this was all too much. No contact with anything connected to his familiar past for twelve years, and now there was a killer who was most likely from the clan of witch’s that despised Agatha. A large part of him severely hoped that whoever this witch was, was not actually Fiona and someone foolish enough to be impersonating her.

He had known since Abby had first mentioned the moth wings that he would have to talk to Agatha again, but their parting 12 years ago still felt fresh.

_ “I know you’re hurting, but you need to listen to me, it wasn’t your fault!” _

_ “You're right, it wasn’t my fault...it was yours! You kept me away from them, you had me help you with that stupid nest of vampires that you could have easily taken care of yourself. You could have let me go home with the rest of the deployed soldiers and then I’d been there to keep them safe. They wouldn't be dead!” _

_ “Do not forget your place!”  _

_ “My place? I have no place! I revoke our contract, I don’t want to be your familiar anymore.”  _

He winced at the memory and absent mindedly rubbed at the sigil on his inner thigh. Agatha had never actually removed his mark and he was glad for it. In all honesty he missed her terribly and her crest on his body was one of the few things that he had that reminded him of her. 

After their terrible fight he’d been too stubborn to apologize and she had disappeared. He had wanted to contact her over the long twelve long years but had never had enough nerve to. 

He looked to see that Tony was staring at how he was rubbing his inner thigh. He stopped what he was doing immediately but Tony kept on staring. Jethro felt his heart give a little flutter and he tried to hide his smirk. Maybe his feelings weren’t one sided.

“Tony!” Gibbs said.

Tony snapped out of it and looked away. Jethro then noticed that the other two agents were looking at him with similar distressed looks.

“What are you waiting for McGee?” Jethro snapped, making everyone stop staring at him as if he’d just told them he had a terminal illness.

“There are several large deposits from an unknown account. There have also been some strange purchases from the credit card used under the alias.”

“I want you to print a copy of the purchases.” Jethro ordered.

“And trace the unknown account, on it boss.” McGee replied. Jethro was glad McGee knew what he wanted without him having to say anything almost as well as Kate or Tony. McGee in the short amount of years he’d been here had shown a large improvement and growth and he knew that McGee would make an excellent lead agent one day.

“Kate, DiNozzo.”

“Find and bring in Sharon Williams for interrogation.” Kate cut in as she put on her backpack.

“On it boss.” Tony mock saluted him and grabbed his own gear, following Kate to the elevator. 

As the elevator doors opened, Jethro called out to them. 

“Be careful.”  He added as much sincerity into his voice as he could muster. His senior agent and female agent regarded him with shocked and somewhat weary expressions before they disappeared into the elevator.

Jethro let out a long sigh, and sank against his desk, not noticing how McGee had stopped typing and was giving him a quizzical look.

He wondered why this was his life.

_______________________________________________

“Can I confess something Kate?” Tony asked quietly as he stared at the open road ahead of them. For 1 o’clock in the afternoon the streets were strangely deserted, which added to the unease in Tony’s stomach.

Kate looked up from her PDA and regarded her partner. His knuckles were white from gripping the steering wheel tightly, and his tone was a serious one he didn't use often. 

“Go ahead.” She said cautiously, her profiler instincts going crazy at this sudden switch of mood from her normally boisterous and energetic partner. She knew that Anthony DiNozzo wasn’t all the frat boy image he presented, but even when he got serious he didn’t look as grave as right now.

“I’m worried about him. In all the years I've worked with him I’ve never seen him look so worried, so out of sorts.” Tony pressed on the gas pedal to merge past a grey sedan and gave a shaky laugh.

“I know, I’m sounding dramatic. But zebras don’t change their stripes.”

“Or a leopard their spots.”

Tony nodded. “The boss obviously has emotions, hell I’ve spent time with him outside work and he’s actually really...nice.” He coughed uncomfortably and made a left onto the street of the William’s house.

“He just has control over his emotions at work ya know? So I’m kind of scared of what could make Jethro unable to keep his masks up.”

Kate blinked, not hiding her surprise at Tony’s casual use of their bosses first name. She guessed if they hung out after work maybe they used their first names, like friends did. Kate couldn’t imagine herself calling him Jethro though. It was like calling her dad by his first name, disrespectful and weird.

“Let’s go.” Tony turned off the car and pocketed the keys in his pocket. 

They both stepped out of the car and headed towards the house. It was your typical two story, white picket fence house. The grass was trimmed neatly, and the bushes and hedges had been trimmed recently. An American flag hung over the porch and it flapped a little in the light breeze.

Kate and Tony stepped onto the woven welcome mat and gave each other a look. Kate knocked first, shaking her head at how they were acting. It wasn’t as if the house was going to eat them if they knocked. 

There was no response, so Tony tried this time, knocking hard enough that the door shook. There was a muffled noise behind the door, and Kate and Tony reached for their guns.

“Open up, this is NCIS!” Tony yelled. There was an unmistakable noise of the locks clicking, and Sharon opened the door to the two agents raising their weapons.

“Oh god.” She squeaked out. Kate put away her weapon, and after a long look from her, Tony did the same.

“I apologize Mrs. Williams, there was no response so we had to take the next step.”

The woman nervously tucked a strand of brown hair behind her ear and accepted their apology.

“Did you come with news about my husband’s death?” She asked eagerly.

Kate shook her head. “Actually, we need you to come with us. We have some questions for you.”

Sharon’s eyes widened and she grabbed the door knob as she tried to steady herself.    
  
“Do you think I did it?” There was hurt and something else in her voice, and she regarded them like a deer in the headlights. Something was definitely up, maybe something beyond the offshore account and the murder.

“Of course not.” Tony switched on his charm and extended an arm out to her. “It’s just some routine questions, we want to go over your statement again.” He lied smoothly.

“And it will be at the Navy Yard right?” She asked.

Tony and Kate exchanged a look before confirming her question. Kate could tell the woman wanted out of her house, as to why she had no idea.

Sharon was locking up the house when she turned over her shoulder and asked Tony if Agent Gibbs would be questioning her.

Kate frowned, she was certain Gibbs hadn’t actually met the woman yet.

Tony nodded hesitantly, and ushered Sharon towards the car, his hand on her lower back.

Kate couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was watching from the house, but she didn’t turn around, chalking the feelings up to nonsense.


	2. de la Barthe

_ Jethro hesitated and waited patiently for his mistress to make the first move.  _

_ When she didn’t so much as blink, he grabbed her elbow and pulled her off the path, urging her to tell him what was wrong. _

_ “There is a reason I don’t normally attend meetings with the high priestess. Many witches don’t agree with my lifestyle, and absolutely despise the use of human familiars.” _

_ Jethro pushed his own nervousness down at that news and waited for her to say more.  _

_ “Some older witches, especially don’t like my family. I come from what could be classified as a ‘good witch’ family. Most of the women in my family were healers, we didn’t terrorize mortals or fight the other supernaturals. We are partially blamed for losing the war between the werewolves and witches.” _

_ Agatha had spoken about the war once. She didn’t remember many details since she’d been a little girl at the time, but one of the witch families had slaughtered a lycan child with no mercy, and then claimed that the child was rabid and had attacked them, using self-defense to explain their actions. _

_ “The family behind it all, the de la Barthes will be there. I need you to stay calm and don’t provoke them.” _

_ “Provoke them?” He scoffed. _

_ She gave him a knowing look, “You get very defensive at any bad word directed my way. While normally I appreciate it, and it is your duty to defend my honor, here it will get you killed.” _

_ Jethro nodded and they walked back onto the path. _

_______________________________________________

Jethro rarely used his powers anymore. Without his mistress around, it felt wrong to use the powers the bones had given him. Most of the spell that made him a familiar had just heightened things he already had. His investigative skills and self-awareness. He didn’t need his powers to help him solve a murder or put two pieces together, - and he didn’t want the memories attached to his power cropping up while out on the field - but it was good to have the heightened eyesight, and sense of smell and touch that the owl talon had given him. 

He only used those when he was really stumped or lives were at stake. That’s why he usually put on a show most of the time, purposefully squinting at papers or having his agents read things for him. He took his glasses out every once and awhile for appearances sake. After all, he was supposed to be a man in his 50’s. 

He couldn’t help be a little bitter though that his injury to his knee seemed to be a permanent fixture in his life.

When he had been an active familiar, he would share energy with Agatha. A give and take. It was like recycling, she pushed her energy towards him, and then he expelled that same energy back at her and the cycle continued.

Without her it took his own energy, and it had a longer replenishing time. With Agatha they could fight for endless hours without needing to stop, but now he needed to sleep for a few hours to get his strength back. 

He took a deep breath and focused his mind, allowing his familiar powers to come to the surface. He blocked out Tony, McGee and Kate who were waiting beside him in the observation room, and just focused on his energy.

The change happened slowly, he stood straighter and the sigil on his thigh tingled as if someone was tracing it with their fingers. He didn’t need to see his reflection in the two way mirror to know one of his blue eyes was tinged a yellowish green. The smell of sawdust and the bitter sweetness of coffee filled the room and he could see out of the corner of his eyes that Tony and Kate were wrinkling their noses at the new smell. 

He eyed the woman in the interrogation room and hid his disgust. Even from here he could smell the motor oil and lemon that leaked from her body.

“Whatever is said in there stays in there.” He growled. Putting his trust in the trio wasn’t as hard now as it would have been when they first started out, but this still was a part of himself he had never wanted to share. Kate, Tony, and McGee would always have his six, but there was a small part of him that was hesitant to trust them with this information. 

“You do not leave this room until I tell you to, got it?”

They verbally agreed, and Jethro readied himself to interrogate the woman in the other room, quickly flipping through the case file as more of a nervous habit than a real need to read through what they had on her.

Tony suddenly grabbed the wrist of the hand that wasn’t holding the case file, and there was a crackle between them. Something flared in Jethro’s chest. Only Agatha had willingly touched him when he was using his powers. It was a natural thing, but even Shannon had been weary of this side of him.

_ “It’s like you’re completely someone else. I know it’s a part of you but it makes me feel uneasy. I don’t think you should be a-a...familiar around us.” _

He had been hurt, he was certain back then that Shannon would accept him. But he shook off that rejection because he loved her dearly, and Kelly had been only a few months old at the time.

Feeling Tony’s warm hand holding his wrist with no unease or fear settled something inside of Jethro, and he wondered again, if Tony reciprocated his feelings.

Tony seemed shocked at his own actions but pressed on.

“Do you want me to come with you boss?”

Jethro shook his head and hesitated for a moment. He looked over to see Kate and McGee were preoccupied with each other.

He squared his shoulders and tugged his arm out of Tony’s hold. He could feel the rejection coming off of Tony and he winced. He needed to take action quickly, to reassure his agent..his friend, before the other two noticed.

He moved forward so they were almost touching. He cursed the younger man’s height advantage and reached up to tilt Tony’s chin downwards so the younger agent would look him in the eyes.

Tony licked his lips unconsciously and held back a remark about Jethro’s eyes. He felt like now would not be the proper time to bring that up. 

“Thank you for always having my six,” Jethro breathed out in a whisper and something in Tony’s eyes flashed.

God, Jethro wished that they were alone. He didn’t know exactly when his feelings for Tony had changed, but it was getting harder and harder not to grasp Tony by the collar of his ridiculously expensive shirts and kiss him senseless. 

Instead he moved the hand under Tony's chin to cup his jaw, and held it tenderly. He then let his hand snake around to the back of Tony’s head, and instead of the usual slap, he stroked the soft hairs at the nape of Tony’s neck.

Tony was looking at him with hooded eyes and Jethro filed that information for later. He always thought that Tony got off on the head slaps or any touch for that matter to his head, and this confirmed it.

He pulled away just as Kate turned to look at them. He clenched the file tighter in his hand and left the room.

_______________________________________________

Tony stood there entranced, Gibbs’ touch lingering. He licked his lips again and watched his boss leave the room.

Their relationship had started off somewhat bitter. Tony had thought that he had lost the case because Gibbs had messed up the op, but instead he’d helped him solve the case, and had offered him a job at NCIS when Tony had found out his partner was a dirty cop. The headslaps at first had annoyed him to no end, but he came to realize that they were Gibbs’ way to show affection and to make Tony focus, and because of this insider knowledge he couldn’t help but get flustered whenever Gibbs smacked him. They didn’t start hanging out outside of work until their second year together, then it was a cowboy steak and beer in front of Gibbs’ fire once a week, before it had changed slowly to going out to eat or just going to a ball game or a movie theatre when they had the time. Tony had stayed over multiple times and each night that he had slept on Gibbs’ couch he dreamed about being up in Gibbs’ room.

Alone, they were Tony and Jethro, at work they were DiNozzo and Gibbs. At Gibbs’ house or Tony’s apartment they could laugh and talk freely. At work there was no chance of that. Tony wondered when the lines had begun to blur and Gibbs was starting to act like he did when they were alone.

  
  
He was shaken out of his trance with a sharp jab to his abdomen. He scowled at Kate, but joined her and McGee to watch as Gibbs walked into the room and immediately disconnected the camera in the corner. 

He couldn’t also help but notice that Gibbs had smelled really good before he went all weird Alpha and his eyes had changed. The smell was always faintly around Gibbs, as much a part of him as his dry mannerisms and grey hair, but in that moment it was strong enough to fill the whole room. It trailed after Gibbs like a living thing, leaving only a trace behind and Tony stopped himself from taking a large sniff so he could smell it again.

That’s when Tony remembered. Sharon had asked for Gibbs by name.

_______________________________________________

Jethro sat down once the cable connecting the camera had been successfully torn from the wall. He knew that the damage would have to be paid for but he’d come up with an excuse for it later.

He opened the file and pushed a headshot of Petty Officer William in uniform towards Sharon. She stifled a sob and slowly placed her hand on the picture, as if she could touch her husband one last time.

“I know what you are.” He hissed and slid another picture out, this time a full body shot of Williams in the morgue.

Her eyes snapped to his and she gasped. 

The air was swirling with too many smells; coffee, sawdust, lemon, motor oil, stale air, and the cleaning solution that had been used to wash the carpets and wipe down the tables and chairs.

He knew the smell was affecting her delicate nose as much as his.

“So, Fiona de la Barthe has gotten herself another pet.” He growled, showing her that if she chose to fight, the clear winner was him.

She played absentmindedly with a bracelet around her wrist and squeaked out “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

He changed tactic, but didn’t bother hiding his disgust. Just this once he could let his masks fall.

“This is your husband correct?” He tapped harshly on the morgue photo. “This is Henry Williams, he was decorated with five awards. He was a marine and a damn good one that loved his country, and you used a death curse to kill him!” He slammed his hand on the table and the girl jerked.

“N-n-no, he wasn’t supposed to-to.” She was sobbing and rubbing a spot on her wrist right under her bracelet, with her thumb. 

He snatched her hand and pulled it towards him, confirming everything when he saw the sigil on her wrist. It was the same colored ink as his, brown for a familiar, black for a witch. The design taunted him.

“He wasn’t supposed to what?” He growled harshly, shoving her hand away. She cradled it close to her and the smell of motor oil and lemon increased.

“Don’t even think of summoning her here.” In a flash, thanks to his familiar powers, he almost leaped out of his chair and went around the table and pulled her from her seat. He had her pinned against the wall and he let his own magik spread so it would kill off the nasty smell coming from her. He could normally get all up in the faces of his suspects, with some physical violence thrown in on a particularly bad day, but he usually tried to keep himself in check. This was different territory though and he knew she could handle it, especially when she didn’t even react to her back slamming into the wall.

“She would not help you even if you summoned her. You are one of thousands of little familiars she keeps for herself, though i am surprised she degraded herself enough to choose you, a human as one.”

He was being hypocritical, and he knew that to Agatha and witches like her that all familiars were seen as equals, but he also knew that him having the gift gave him a certain levarage. He could see the supernatural beings for what they were. Sharon was just a plain human. The de la Barthe family were one of the one’s Agatha had warned him about that night many years ago. They loathed human familiars, so why was Fiona using one now?

He’d only met her once before, and once was enough. 

She looked up and stared into his eyes. There was some defiance in her eyes but when she saw he wasn’t backing down her body sunk weakly as if the strings had been cut.

“Fiona said that to prove my loyalty to her, I needed to get ingredients for her, I didn’t know what they were actually for.” He helped her back over to the chair and waited patiently for her to continue.

He would have to confirm with McGee but that strange list he’d mentioned probably was what Sharon had bought for Fiona.

“She told me that it was a potion to strengthen the love between Henry and I. Our marriage has been on the rocks lately, In the last four years I’ve had two miscarriages, and that put a strain on our relationship.” She sniffled loudly and wiped at her eyes, making her eyeliner smudge everywhere. 

“I swear I didn’t know it would kill him. I should have realized she was using me as bait. She even gave me access to her account to get the supplies.”

Jethro squinted at her, wondering what the hell she meant by ‘bait’. 

There was a rapid succession of knocks at the door and Jethro grumbled. Whoever was breaking one of his rules was going to get a reprimand.

He swung the door open to show Tony, and he glared at his second in command.

“What?” He barked.

“Earlier, when we picked you up, she requested you by name. She asked if Agent Gibbs would be here.”

Sharon piped up from behind them. “Fiona said to mention your name, I didn’t know she was using me to get to you.”

Jethro paled slightly and cursed every god he could think of. Of course Fiona was using someone to get to him.

_______________________________________________

On top of Tony, McGee, and Kate, he had also invited Abby.

He considered inviting Ducky and Palmer as well, but Ducky already knew about witches and the supernatural because he’d been a hunter in his youth. He knew all about Jethro’s past so he didn’t feel the need to have Ducky miss his opera night with his mother. Palmer was too much of a wild card, he was a nice enough kid but he didn’t have the same connection with Gibbs as everyone else did. Abby was basically his daughter, so while it wasn’t necessary for her to know, it would still feel wrong to leave her out of the loop.

Besides she had ways of figuring things out and would certainly be pissed that everyone else on the team knew except her.

He was originally going to order out, but he needed a distraction so he had made dinner instead. 

After Tony had interrupted, he had taken a few seconds to freak out because even he could be afraid of someone, and then had ushered Tony out of the room. 

He had read Sharon her rights after questioning her some more about Fiona’s intentions. When she hadn’t been able to tell him anything, he promised to get her a witch lawyer because she had been misled by Fiona. 

When he had handcuffed her, he hadn’t been surprised to see her sigil was gone.

He had handed her over right after that, and had left for home. The trio had wanted answers to what had just happened, but he brushed them off and reiterated that they were to be at his house at 8pm, and that they should bring Abby. 

He had set the table in the dining room with the fine china he hadn’t used since Shannon and Kelly had been alive. He also used the matching plates, utensils, and napkins that had come with. He pulled extra chairs from the garage so the table had a full set once again.

He put the roast chicken he’d soaked in beer onto the platter and carried it out to set on the table in between the roasted potatoes and the green bean casserole. He thought that maybe he was putting too much effort into things but he hadn’t entertained in years and he’d never admit it but he had liked it when Shannon’s friends had been impressed with his roasts, or Kelly’s classmates had begged her to make her father bake more cookies.

Since he was young he had helped his mom cook, and when she had died, he and Jack had shared the responsibility. He also had to cook for Agatha. It had been weird to let Shannon do all the cooking so he told her right away that he didn’t expect her to cater to him, that he would cook as much if not more than her.

It was around three thirty when he had left, so he had more than enough time to cook everything and get ready.

He hesitated for a second as he pulled the rolls out of the oven, wondering if maybe he should have invited Agatha over for dinner too, but he knew he was too chicken. He should have contacted her the minute his suspicion that the killer was a witch, but he couldn't help but replay the scene of when they’d split ways. 

He was a double coward for not calling her the minute that he heard the last name de la Barthe.

He plucked the rolls off the pan and put them in a basket that he’d covered with a linen white napkin. He then took that to the table and placed it next to the green beans. He wiped his hands on his apron and went to take it off when he heard a noise coming from the porch.

“McGee and Kate are going to be a little late, they’re stuck in traffic. Abby too, she wanted to get some fancy wine for tonight so-.” Tony stopped what he was saying as he stood at the doorway into the living room.

Jethro self-consciously ran a hand through his hair, unsure as to why Tony was eyeing him like that, like he wanted to devor Jethro. 

He didn’t think he looked that special. He was wearing a short sleeved NIS shirt that had become a little tight around the chest and his usual blue jeans. The only odd thing was the apron he’d pulled from the pantry. 

Oh... _ oh,  _ it was the apron that had made Tony stop in his tracks.

A friend of Shannon’s had given it to her for her 23rd birthday. It was a neon pink with the words ‘ _ kiss the cook’  _ in white script.

Tony took a hesitant step forward and Jethro took in a deep breath. He would have had to have been born yesterday to not understand the look in Tony’s eyes, or the way the younger man’s breath had quickend. 

“Jethro.” Tony’s voice was barely above a whisper as he stepped even closer. His eyes never leaving Jethro’s.

Jethro took the next step, closing the gap between the two of them. Tony’s arms found their way around Jethro’s waist as if they’d done this a thousand times. Jethro settled his hands on Tony’s broad shoulders and looked at him, daring him to make the next move.

“Kiss the cook huh?” Tony’s voice had lowered and Jethro could feel his lower half reacting right away, as if he was a teenager.

Tony pulled him even closer and it felt so good. Jethro let his eyes go to half mast, the anticipation practically killing him.

Tony dipped his head down and pressed a tender but firm kiss against Jethro’s lips. Jethro sighed into it and moved one hand to snake around Tony’s neck so he could cup the back of the man’s head.

Tony gave a deep groan as Jethro gently tugged at the hair at the nape of his neck and his mouth opened, allowing Jethro to slide his tongue in.

God he had been dreaming of this for a long time, and the reality of it was better than anything he could ever dream up. Tony’s hand moved further down to squeeze Jethro’s ass and Jethro delved deeper into Tony’s mouth, easily controlling the kiss.

He pushed the taller male towards the couch and Tony tumbled down onto the wide plaid patterned couch. 

He looked up eagerly as Jethro climbed on top and slotted himself between Tony’s legs. He placed one hand next to Tony’s head to hold himself up while the other ran over the silk covered chest as he mashed their mouths together again in a passionate and heated kiss. Tony’s hands were slithering down to his belt buckle when he broke the kiss and blocked Tony’s hands from moving any further.

“We...we can’t do this.” He huffed, pushing himself up and sitting on the edge of the couch by Tony’s hip.

Tony’s blissed out expression became hard, a stone mask coming over his features. 

“Of course boss.” He said with a dry tone, moving to sit up.

Jethro sighed and smacked the back of Tony’s head before grabbing his shirt collar and pulling him forward into another hot kiss.

“Don’t be an idiot. We don’t know when everyone else will walk in and I still need to explain everything.”

Relief flooded Tony’s features and he let out a chuckle.

“Oh thank god.”

He pressed his forehead against Jethro’s head and kissed the tip of the older man’s nose making Jethro scrunch his face up.

“DiNozzo.” He warned, standing up to smooth himself out. He took off the apron and went back to the kitchen to neatly put it back in the pantry.

Tony followed and let out a low whistle when he saw the food.

“This looks real good, and oh my god you made the chicken!” 

Jethro smirked at the childish glee that was radiating off of Tony.

He had served the chicken once before and judging from Tony’s reaction, he’d made a good decision to serve it this time.

“Hey, Jethro?” Tony asked when Jethro had walked back into the dinning room. Jethro gave him a curious look and patiently stood by the younger agent, interested in what had made Tony go from ecstatic about chicken to melancholy.

“What does this mean for..us?”

Jethro was never good with words, and right now was an obvious example of his lack of verbalization. What was it Tony sometimes called him? A functioning mute? He honestly didn’t know what to say and it must have shown on his face because Tony now looked as if Jethro had kicked a puppy.

“Look, you now I’m not….dammit. I’m not good with words.” He sighed heavily and stepped up next to Tony. 

“Right now there are more pressing issues. But I will say that I’m in this for the long haul, I don’t do short term, even if my ex-wives tell another story.”

That cracked a smile out of Tony.

“Do you really mean that?”

“Do I ever say anything I don’t mean?” Jethro countered.

Tony’s smile was absolutely blinding. 

“ ‘Course not boss.”


	3. An Explanation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the kudos and comments <3 I hope you like this chapter : )  
> Also I have not watched this show in 3 years so I'm sorry if the characters are OOC.

Abby had arrived soon after Jethro had reassured Tony that he wasn’t going anywhere. 

She had hugged both of them, and had given Jethro a kiss on the cheek. Once she’d taken off her black peacoat, she’d handed a foil covered casserole dish and the wine to Tony. 

“I bought the last bottle of Moscato. It'll go well with the chicken.”

Jethro wasn’t too sure since the secret to all his meats was pouring beer over them to make them extra tender, and he didn’t know how well the beer would go with a sweet wine.

She had then gushed over the food, impressed that Jethro had cooked everything. He tried not to blush under her praise. 

Jethro took the casserole dish and wine from Tony and brought them to the kitchen. He peeked under the foil and saw Abby had made banana bread pudding. He put that in the fridge and then took off the foil off the bottle to find it was a screw on top, and not a cork. That would make things easier.

The noise increased in the dining room, so that meant Kate and McGee had arrived. He would admit that he was nervous for several reasons. The main one was of course revealing himself as a familiar, then talking about his experience with Fiona, then introducing them to Agatha - if they didn’t walk away before that, calling him crazy - then dealing with Agatha and all the emotional crap he didn’t want brought to light, and then there was talking with Tony, who might change his mind after learning his boss and possible future lover had supernatural abilities.

The only one who he was confident would stay by his side was Abby. But compared to the others, his confidence wasn’t really that significant, it was maybe 30%. And if they all stayed and believed him, they’d be hurt that he didn’t trust them enough to give them the benefit of doubt. But he’d been rejected by Shannon, the only woman he’d truly loved. He did not want to go through that kind of heartbreak with Tony.

They were about mid meal when Jethro decided he should start.

“I know you all have questions.”

Everyone but Abby looked up from their food. She was too focused on trying to cut her piece of chicken to notice the tension in the room.

“First I should tell you some things about me.”

He could tell that the trio wanted to just jump right into questioning him but he needed to control the conversation.

“Abby.” He let some exasperation leak into his tone and she looked up. 

“This involves you too.”

She smiled sheepishly and put her fork and knife down.

Jethro cleared his throat which was suddenly dry and decided to just go right into it.

“Since I was a child, I’ve had what’s called the  _ gift.  _ I was able to see the aura that identifies someone as a supernatural being. I ignored it in the beginning because I was just a boy from a little town in the 1950’s, and I didn’t want people to think I was crazy.”

He paused and tried to gage the reactions of the people in the room.

Tony had a blank face, - which worried him extensively - Kate was frowning, and McGee actually had his mouth open. Abby was the only one who was smiling slightly. She was leaning on her elbows and waiting eagerly for him to continue.

He should have known that Abby would believe him right away.

“As my  _ gift  _ grew, I became a beacon for supernatural beings. I was attacked one night by a Lycan, I had really bad scratches on my back and everywhere else and I was certain that I would be killed, but a witch saved me.” 

He spared a look at Tony, and while he hadn’t changed his expression, Jethro could see the worry and sympathy in his eyes. 

“The witch, Agatha, had been in town a few times, but unlike other supernaturals, she didn’t approach me until I’d been attacked. I was sure that she had just saved me so she could use me for herself, but she was hurting and we ended up just being company for each other.

“Company?” Tony bristled.

Jethro didn’t want to be happy that Tony’s voice was filled with jealousy, but he couldn’t deny his true feelings.

“Our...relationship is complicated I won’t lie. But to oversimplify, our relationship is more mother and son then anything else.” He gave Tony a pointed look and the younger man flushed but the jealousy disappeared.

“We got to know each other over a period of two years, so that when I was sixteen I approached her about familiars. I had noticed that she didn’t have one, and I’d read in books she had around her cottage that a familiar was a large part of a Witch’s life.”

“A familiar?” Kate asked.

“Oooh, like a black cat right?” Abby jumped in. 

“Wait are you going to say what I think you’re going to say?!” She exclaimed and jumped out of her seat.

“Oh my god you’re a cat, that’s why you’re so sneaky not to mention your reflexes are way too good for a man of your age, and you can be aloof and you’re grumpy most of the time. I always knew something about you was different, there is no way a normal human knows what you know.”

“A man of my age?” He asked, feeling more amused than annoyed at the comment.

“I mean, you’re no spring chicken but you're not that old, I wasn’t trying to imply you were old.” Abby flailed her hands and he could see everyone else was trying not to laugh. Abby’s theatrics had cut some of the tension and for that he was thankful, but he had to get them back on topic.

“I’m not a cat, or any other animal, now sit down Abby.”

She did so with a disappointed pout.

“I am a familiar though, one of the few humans to become one.” He addressed Kate next.

“And to answer your question, a familiar in dictionary terms is  a demon supposedly attending and obeying a Witch, often said to assume the form of an animal. A familiar is much more than that. A witch’s familiar is an extension of her soul. There is a ritual where a witch and familiar bond, and a piece of their souls goes into the other. They are then marked with a sigil that belongs to the witch’s family. To quote my mistress, ‘a familiar is not a servant but a lifelong partner’. The night she saved me she had lost her familiar, she saved me because she wanted to die, she wanted the Lycan to kill her.” 

He took a pause to push away the hurt feeling whenever he thought of that night, and gazed at the table for a bit, collecting himself.

“Mistress?” Tony asked, the jealousy back and seeping into his tone enough to make the others look at him with confused expressions.

“Not like that.” Jethro sighed wearily. “It’s difficult to explain, but there is nothing sexual about our relationship.”

Tony nodded, but the jealousy seemed to be staying this time.

“The reason why I’m telling you this is because of what happened in the interrogation room. Williams had said she’d been the bait for me, and she was right.That account under Fiona de la Barthe was not an alias, but an account that belongs to a witch that has been after me for years.”

Jethro didn’t want to go down this path right now, so he ordered everyone to finish their dinner, saying they wouldn’t talk anymore about this topic until they had finished.

“Rule 5, you don’t waste good.” McGee said quietly. Jethro gave him a rare smile and stood up, heading into the kitchen with his bare plate. He set it in the sink and went into the fridge to pull out the dessert. He pulled some bourbon out of the cabinet above the fridge, knowing he would need it for later, and set it on the counter.

When he was done cutting pieces of the banana bread pudding, and had placed them on tiny dessert plates, everyone had placed their dishes in the sink and grabbed their dessert. Abby offered to wash the dishes but he waved her off, and said if she wanted to help she could serve the coffee.

She did just that and they spent about twenty minutes just eating and sipping at their coffee. The topic was light, they steered clear of the case and any mention of the supernatural and talked about a new game McGee had begun playing, which earned teasing from Kate and Tony.

Abby spent most of the time trying to convince Gibbs to come bowling with her over the weekend with the nuns. Apparently he was a topic much talked upon when the girls all got together. 

“I’ll only go if Tony goes too.”

Tony’s head snapped towards him, a look of betrayal on his face. Jethro just smirked.

“Oh please Tony, you’ll love it! I swear the nuns are nowhere near as horrible as the ones you had. They certainly don’t bite and are so sweet and kind and Sister Harriette tells really dirty jokes and ….ok wait I lied, Sister Yasmine does bite but they’re a great bunch, please Tony?” She drew out the agents name and he finally caved, throwing Jethro a dirty look.

Jethro hadn’t been this carefree in a while so he just smiled at Tony.

Tony froze before returning the smile with a small, shy one of his own.

Once all the dishes had been washed and the leftovers put away, Jethro grabbed the bourbon and some shot glasses and brought them over to the living room, putting everything onto the handmade table before taking a seat in the middle of the sofa. 

Tony beelined straight for the seat next to Jethro and made a big show of trying to get himself comfortable. His leaned all the way back and opened his legs, so his knee was pressed firmly against Jethro’s thigh.

Kate took the recliner by the doorway into the living room, while McGee brought the chair he had been sitting in while having dinner and placed it in front of the fireplace.

Abby was last, she poured a generous amount of bourbon into the shot glasses and passed them out to everyone, before taking the last one for herself and taking the seat on the other side of Jethro. 

“In the witch community, it’s a taboo to have relationship of any kind with a human. A human familiar is seen as disgusting by a lot of the older witch families. Many believe that humans are just lesser beings for them to toy with.” He downed his shot in one quick gulp and placed it on the table, knowing that was all he could have. He needed to keep his head straight.

“One of the oldest witch families are the de la Barthe’s. They come from a long line of murderous witches who torture humans and animals alike for fun. They are well respected for the fear they inflict, and their immense power.”

“Are they related to Angele de la Barthe?” Abby asked, awe in her voice.

“The de la Barthe’s are nothing to regard with awe Abby.” He snapped.

He felt bad for snapping but Abby had no idea what real witches were like, let alone the de la Barthe’s. 

“And yes she is related to Angele. I have never had the chance to meet that wretched _witch_ , but I know her granddaughter personally. There’s a reason that when I was Agatha’s familiar, I didn’t hang around the de la barthe’s and other like them. They’re the type to misuse familiars. Take Sharon for example, she was Fiona’s familiar only so she could bait me. As soon as her job was done, the sigil that marked her as Fiona’s disappeared. If she had been an animal she most likely would have just been killed.”

“Her granddaughter?” Kate asked, apparently familiar with stories of Angele.

“How old does that make her then? Angele was killed in 1275.” McGee interjected.

Tony was the only one who wasn’t knowledgeable about the witch family, and Jethro was glad for that in a way. 

“All supernatural beings have a different lifespan from a humans. Imps live the shortest, only twenty years. They reach adulthood by the age of seven. Elves and Dryads are the longest living supernatural beings. The maximum is 2,000 and 5,000 respectively. Dryads live for as long as the tree they are attached to lives.”

McGee and Abby looked shocked. When they had talked about McGee’s new fantasy game during dessert, their had been mentions of goblins and imps and other magical creatures. Abby and McGee had spent some time arguing about the lifespan of some of the creatures, and Jethro was here to prove all their theories wrong.

“Not everything you hear is the truth. For example, look at Vampires. To become one you must be bitten, and that is only half-true. The majority of Vampires are born as anyone else is. Those who have been turned by a vampire, or are born of a human and vampire are called halflings. They are considered lower on the pedestal than a human. They are seen as impure and are unwanted by the supernatural and the human beings.”

He let that sink in and continued. His throat was becoming increasingly dry, he had never talked this much before, he quite liked being a functioning mute, only needing to say what had to be said. This was by far the most that needed to be said.

“To answer your questions, Angele was not actually killed. No one can kill that bitch but Death itself.” He said darkly.

“Which is soon hopefully, she’s seven hundred something years old, and a witches natural life span is three hundred years. She’s exhausted all the spells and deals she can to extended her life.”

He felt a grim satisfaction at that.

“Fiona on the other hand is about only eighty years old, and looks about thirty. She’s had an unhealthy obsession with me since the first and only time we met.”

He felt Tony sitting up and aligning his body so every part of his left side was pressed against Jethro. 

With Tony’s comforting presence. He told them about his encounter with Fiona.

___________________________________________________

_ Jethro had complained the entire time Agatha had dressed him. He had lied to Jack about where he was going that night, using the usual excuse when he was needed by Agatha - going on a date with Lucy Miller from the town over.  _

_ Jethro had turned up at Agatha’s door in his best suit and she’d immediately made him strip it off. _

_ As they continued down the path he tugged at the collar of the shirt he’d been forced to wear. Agatha slapped his hand and quickened her pace. The large castle was supposed to be buried in the hills, hidden with magik so no unwanted guests would find it. He wondered how they would get through all the fields and hills with their shoes. _

_ Agatha was dressed in her finest jewelry and dress. She wore an a line white dress that sparkled in the moonlight with thousands of real diamonds. She was wearing even higher heels this time, so Jethro’s 6’0 frame was at least five inches shorter than her. He wondered if she was compensating for something but he didn’t dare ask the question out loud. Her black hair was piled high above her head into an elegant updo, and her hair had a string of diamonds threaded throughout. _

_ She had forced Jethro into a jet black turtleneck, and a long olive green overcoat. He had stopped her from handing over a long black skirt, what kind of man did she think he was? She had relented and given him instead a pair of tight fitting black pants, and pointy heeled shoes that had a checkered pattern white and the same green as his coat. _

_ The thin silver chain with their sigil was tucked under the turtleneck. He had been wearing it ever since he’d woken up from the blinding pain of the binding ritual two years ago. _

_ They came across a birch tree, much like the one that announced Agatha’s property line, and stopped. It was in the middle of the path, blocking them from walking past. _

_ She extended her hand, palm up, and focused her magik so a little ball of gold formed and hovered over her palm. She picked the ball up with her other hand and pressed it against the tree. The white birch let out a loud shriek that had Jethro clenching his eyes shut, and covering his ears at the horrible and loud sound. _

_ When he opened his eyes he realized they were now in the courtyard of the castle.  _

_ People were bustling past him and he removed his hands from his ears and shoved them in the coat pockets, trying to hide his embarrassment.  _

_ Agatha looped her arm through his and led him through the crowd to the inside of the castle.  _

_ He wasn't one for finer things but even he could appreciate the inside of the castle. They had walked through a short hall into the ballroom where the main event was happening. The entire decor gave the castle a rich and vibrant feeling. The curtains that covered the windows and glass doors were gold, like the tablecloths and napkins. _

_ There was light classical music coming from up above where some fae were floating above them all with harps and violins.  _

_ There were two banquet tables, one for the high priestess and the others that were equivalent to the human worlds Congressmen. The other was overflowing with food. _

_ Agatha steered them over to a table in the corner where only one other witch was sitting. She looked much younger than Agatha, and was nervously surveying the room.  _

_ She calmed down once she noticed Agatha, and a large grin split her face. She stood up and opened her arms just as wide as her grin. _

_ The two women hugged and Jethro found himself standing awkwardly, feeling small next to the two tall witches. _

_ Something pawed at his leg and he looked down to see a large cat looking up at him expectantly, it's paw extended upwards. _

_ Just a few years ago he would have brushed off this experience, but he knew better now. He squatted down and shook the cats hand. He released the large paw and realized that the large cat was actually a white cougar. _

_ He heard Agatha clear her throat beside him and he straightened up to introduce himself to the new witch. _

_ He learned that her name was Sarah Reed. She had recently become of age to attend these meetings and was familiar with Agatha because their mothers had been close friends. She was about two inches taller than Jethro but she was just naturally tall. She wore a lime green cocktail dress and matching flats. Her red hair was in millions of braids that reached her elbows. _

_ Her familiar was the white cougar that had stayed at Jethro’s side. He found that a bit odd, but then again he didn’t know their relationship. _

_ Some familiars and witches didn’t need to be in constant contact with each other, they were still just a strongly bonded but more independent and needing extra space.  _

_ Though it was extremely rare, there were also those that rejected each other even after the bonding ritual.  _

_ Sarah was becoming increasingly flustered the longer the cougar was beside Jethro, and Agatha began to notice. _

_ She furrowed her eyebrows, eyeing the cougar with open curiosity. The cougar just sat down on its hind legs and stared back. Its long tail wrapped around his leg in a hold that wasn’t too tight but there would still be some struggle if Jethro moved. _

_ Agatha’s mouth dropped and she let out a laugh. _

_ “Oh my god, Is she imprinting on my familiar?” Her cackles grew louder and some people turned to look at what was happening but they soon returned to their own conversations. _

_ Sarah sank back into her seat and nodded her head. “Kora has been doing that to almost every familiar that has come by.” She whined. _

_ Kora puffed up her chest to show she was insulted and butted her head against Jethro’s thigh. _

_ He let out a small laugh and scratched behind her ears, earning a large rumble of a purr. _

_ Sarah groaned and began to apologize but Jethro just laughed. In his eighteen years he’d never had a great relationship with animals, so he was pleased that Kora was even giving him the time of day. _

_ Kora only retracted her tail when she saw he wanted to sit down. The moment he took his seat beside Agatha, the tail was back around his leg, though now she was under the table with her chin resting on Sarah’s shoes. _

_ They talked a bit, and a waiter brought by plates stacked high with fruits, meats, and salad fixings. Water was brought for Jethro while the two Witches were given blue liquid.  _

_ Agatha and Sarah had stayed silent the entire time the waiter had been by. When the waiter had first come by, Jethro had been about to look at him but Agatha kicked him under the table and he kept his eyes downwards. _

_ Once the waiter was out of sight, Agatha spoke. _

_ “Those waiters are employed by the de la Barthe’s. You never trust them and you never say anything around them. I don’t like how he was hovering around us.” She gritted her teeth and plunged her fork into a slice of pineapple and stared it down before eating it. _

_ Sarah nodded her head in agreement. _

_ “I think we should leave once they finish the first round of the announcements. If anything mentioned in the second and third round were important enough for all of us to know, they would put it in the first round.” Sarah said quietly.  _

_ There was a loud clanging bell from the front of the room and everyone quieted down. The fae floated down to the ground and left the ballroom. _

_ An elegantly dressed woman with a bat on her shoulder stepped into the middle of the room. She had a scroll tucked under her arm and she unfurled it neatly. In a strong and clear voice she began speaking. _

_ “Welcome to the 75th Meeting of the Western Witches Coven under the High Priestess Ramona Hale. Due to extenuating circumstances, all familiars will be asked to leave the ballroom and conjure in the upper hall for the first half of the meeting.” _

_ There was a large cry of outrage and Agatha reached over and grabbed Jethro’s wrist. He could tell Agatha was regretting coming this time. Kora let out a growl of protest and stalked out from under the table to stand protectively around her mistress, her tail leaving Jethro’s to go around Sarah’s arm. Sarah stroked Kora’s back to try and calm her down. _

_ “Silence!” A woman yelled, her authoritarian tone causing all conversations to halt. _

_ A young witch came down from the head banquet table to stand next to the witch who made the announcement. Said Witch was starting to tremble in the presence of the newcomer. _

_ The new witch had pale skin and very fair blonde hair that was done in a complicated up due that made flowers out her hair. She was wearing a dark blue gown that had a silver cape that draped over her right side. Jethro noted that he couldn't see her familiar and he felt even more uneasy at her presence.  _

_ “All the familiars will leave now!” She snarled, taking up a threatening pose. _

_ Everyone began moving. Jethro stood hesitantly, drawing the attention of the blonde witch. Her face morphed into one of glee and Jethro felt a shiver go down his spine. _

_ Agatha stood up and blocked Jethro’s view of the witch. “Keep Kora around you at all times, do not leave her sight.”  _

_ Jethro gave her a tight nod and followed the other familiars out of the room and up a long flight of stairs, feeling awkward that he was the only human in the mix. _

_ He stood beside an alcove that was the entrance to what Jethro figured was a study. After a moment, he slid down and stretched his legs out, leaning his back against the alcove. Kora adjusted herself so she was half draped over his stomach and his legs, and he ran his hands through her course fur.  _

_ The same waiter from before walked up the stairs and began distributing bowls of water for the familiars. Jethro made sure not to look at or speak to the man when the waiter handed him a small glass of water. _

_ He took a grateful sip and set the glass beside his hip. _

_ The effects were immediate, the room seemed to spin, and he could hear Kora’s worried growl before everything went black. _

_ **** _

_ He woke to a pounding in his head and slightly blurry vision. He shook his head and inhaled deeply, recoiling when he smelled motor oil and lemon. _

_ With all the smells of magik downstairs, his nose hadn’t been able to focus on any of them and had blocked them out so all he smelled was the familiar sawdust and cinnamon from Agatha. Now with no other magik smells, the motor oil and lemon was hitting him hard. _

_ His eyes watered and he scrunched his nose up. _

_ He heard a chuckle and looked around the room to see a lone figure in the corner staring at him. He registered that he was sitting on a plush sofa, and he was in someone’s bedroom. _

_ The figure came closer and he saw it was the blonde witch from earlier. _

_ “Hello my pet.” She cooed, placing a cold hand against his cheek. He tried to move away but her hand stayed on cheek and whatever drug or spell she’d used in the water still had an effect on him and was making him too weak. _

_ “I heard that Demdike had a human familiar, but I didn’t think the rumors were true. She really is an idiot.” _

_ He growled at her words and she laughed again. _

_ “Feisty aren’t we.” She leaned her face closer and she licked the side of his cheek. He recoiled weakly and she smiled. _

_ “You taste different, tell me human, what would it take to give your loyalty to me?”  _

_ She pushed him back against the couch and slowly sat down on his lap, scooching as close to his chest as she could. She draped an arm over his shoulder and over the back of the couch, while the other played with his hair. _

_ “I want you, and I will have you. No little goody two shoe witch is going to stop me.” She nuzzled her nose against his throat and inhaled deeply. He tried to push her off but she clung closer, and moved her hips harshly against him. _

_ He had never been more terrified. He knew any other boy his age would be laughing at him for being terrified of having a woman throwing herself at him, but he could tell her energy was tainted. The blue aura that surrounded her was menacing and her magik smell made him sick.  _

_ Her voice was similar to nails on chalkboard, and he tried to shake himself loose of her grip but she was like a snake, coiling and pressing herself tighter against him. _

_ There was a loud growl from the door and the wood shook from the force of something being thrown or rammed against it. _

_ It distracted the witch enough for Jethro to push her off. She fell to the ground and he scrambled to his feet, still wobbly. He stumbled towards a set of glass doors and pushed them open to reveal a small balcony. _

_ He used all his remaining strength to use his familiar powers, and he jumped. He heard a high pitched screech from behind him as he fell. He landed hard on his shoulder and started to roll. He hadn’t really checked before he’d jumped, so he was unaware that there was a hill under the balcony and he was picking up speed and heading into the forest. _

_ He slammed into a tree and he curled up on himself, trying to get his breath back.  _

_ Fear was fueling him and he stood up on shaky legs and started sprinting, his only thought was getting the hell away from the castle. _

_ He collapsed after running for maybe ten minutes. He had absolutely no idea where he was and he suddenly felt like a little a boy again. For a second his head was filled with the memory of his mother coming into his room with some hot chocolate when he would wake up screaming from a nightmare. _

_ He didn’t know how long he had been trying to catch his breath when he heard rustling. He began panicking, as branches snapped under the weight of whatever was approaching him. _

_ He nearly fainted with relief when he saw Kora shouldering her way through the trees to get to him. She bumped her head against his chest and gave him a large lick. He sobbed with relief and wrapped the arm that didn’t have the bad shoulder and tugged her close. _

___________________________________________________

Jethro didn’t tell them everything, he was sparse with the details about the blonde Witch - Fiona - and he downplayed his terror, but he knew they were reading behind the lines. They were on his team for a reason.

“Oh Gibbs.” Abby said, tears streaming down her face.

He winced, he hadn’t meant to make her cry. Even Kate was looking at him teary eyed. He really didn’t know what to do with crying women.

Abby turned in her seat and gave Jethro a huge hug, her fingers digging deeply into his back.

“Oh I’m so sorry, and now she’s coming after you and she’s such a dreadful woman and…” Abby trailed off into a broken sob.

Jethro gave her a quick squeeze before gently pushing her back. 

“Abby I need you to breathe.” 

She nodded and took a few deep gulps of air.

“I’m fine now, Agatha found me and took me back. I wasn’t physically harmed.” He tried to reassure his team.

“This isn’t all a joke...right boss?” McGee asked quietly.

“It’d be a pretty sick thing to make a joke of don’t you think Tim.” Tony snapped.

McGee’s eyes widened at the use of his first name and he shrunk back into his seat.

Jethro sighed and stood up from the couch. Kate took his place and took over comforting Abby.

He walked over to the bookshelf where his gun box was and pulled out a thick green book. He opened it to reveal it was actually a box. He pulled out the familiar silver chain with the sigil dangling off of it. 

He also took out a packet of powder.

“I’m going to summon Agatha here, I can’t do much against Fiona or any other supernatural beings without her help.” He bit his bottom lip, a habit he had broken a long time ago but was always brought back during stressful situations.

“We..we didn’t part on good terms, and I need everyone to be respectful and don’t stare.” He warned.

“What happened?” Kate asked, watching him closely as he dunked the necklace into the red powder.

“That’s a story for another time.” He said softly. 

“This parts a bit..private.” He coughed uncomfortably and left the room to go down to the basement. He could hear Tony going after him and the others protesting that he shouldn’t follow. Why did he always have to fall for the stubborn ones?

Tony came down the stairs and leaned against the railing as he watched Jethro take off his pants.

“I wondered where your sigil was.” Tony purred.

Jethro threw him a look. “You’re taking this surprisingly well.”

Tony regarded him quietly before walking over and pulling Jethro into his arms. They kissed for a short moment before they pulled apart and Jethro rested his forehead on Tony’s shoulder. Tony tightened his hold on the older man and tilted his head so his lips were next to Jethro’s ear.

“I trust you Jethro, simple as that. I always will. Whatever happens I have your six and you have mine.” He kissed the spot behind Jethro’s ear and Jethro felt his heart become full with the love he had for his Special Agent.

“Besides, it’s almost Halloween and that’s when our weirdest cases come out.” Tony smirked and didn’t bother ducking when Jethro slapped him in the back of the head.

“Let’s do this then.” Jethro said.


	4. Agatha And Tony

Jethro pressed the sigil of his necklace, against the matching one against his thigh and thought of Agatha.

He had only done this two times before. When Kelly had been born, and once during Desert Storm.

He could feel the rush of magik and he could feel Agatha. She felt angry and wild. He pushed past her emotions and connected straight to her heart. He said her name softly, and added a ‘please’ for good measure, before withdrawing.

He took a shuddering breath and put his pants back on as fast as he could with his bad knee making it difficult. He really didn’t want to be pants down when the witch appeared.

He hesitated at what to do with the necklace so he tucked it safely away into his back pocket.

Tony led the way upstairs to where the others had been waiting. They were all standing by the fire in a little cluster, their emotions showing on the surface. He nodded that he was done and went to put away the bourbon and shot glasses, he could feel Agatha getting closer by the second and he wanted the place to be a little bit tidy.

When he came back to the living room, he let the change happen again, the same as the change that had happened before he had gone into the interrogation room.

“Since a familiar shares energy with their witch and is meant to protect them, a familiar is given a set of powers. Most familiars regular strengths are just improved, like a cat is sneakier and has sharper claws and faster reflexes. For me, Agatha mixed up a whole bunch of bones of other animals so I could be a match for anything if anyone attacked us.”

He flexed his hand and felt some energy coursing down. He let his hand glow gold and the four of them watched his palm intently.

A pool of gold appeared in his palm, and out of it sprung a little deer. It looked like liquid gold before solidifying. It disappeared in a flash and he almost laughed at the disappointed expression on his teams faces.

“This is an example of the little magik I can do. I can’t do anything more than little illusions and make some protection spells, without Agatha with me.” Not that he had ever tried anything more than that but the books and Agatha had never expressed him being capable of doing more.

“What about your eyes?” Kate asked.

“Besides being marked by a sigil, a familiar is also marked by the color of their witches eyes. It only appears when we draw upon the energy linking the two of us and we change into an ultimate form of sorts.”

“And that smell?” Tony asked, leaning forward a little to take a sniff. 

Jethro raised an eyebrow and Tony leaned back looking embarrassed.

“Yeah bossman, I mean not that you don’t smell good on a regular basis but there’s something more to it now.” Abby said.

“Every magik user has a certain smell. Agatha always smelled of cinnamon and sawdust so I inherited that. Though the sawdust smell is probably doubled on me because I work with wood, and there’s also a coffee smell which is my own magik smell.”

“Is that why Williams smelled so weird? Like citrus and….” McGee struggled to finish the sentence but he didn’t know what that other smell had been.

“Lemon and motor oil.” Jethro confirmed.

“That’s nasty.” Kate said, earning a small smile from Jethro. He was about to agree when he felt the air shift, and the smell of cinnamon and sawdust increased. The lights flickered and Jethro mentally sighed.

She always had a flare for the dramatics.

As soon as the lights stopped flickering he became aware of her standing behind him, her shadow looming over him.

He braced himself and turned around to face her.

Agatha’s hand came up and slapped him hard in the cheek. He staggered back a little and out of his peripheral he saw Kate and Tony stepping forward with their hands reaching for their guns.

He held his hands out to stop them. He appreciated them being on the defense for him but he really didn't want his mistress to be shot.

Agatha was glaring at him and her shoulders were shaking with each breath she took.

“You.” She gritted out before pulling him into a tight embrace. Her coat enveloped him and he fell into the warm and familiar embrace. 

It felt like he was sixteen again and she was hugging him for the first time.

“You fool, what have you done?” She asked, holding him at arm's length to look at him.

“What have I done?” He questioned.

“Oh and you’ve gotten old.” She fussed with his hair and clothing and he shifted awkwardly, blushing from embarrassment.

He heard a snort behind him and he hissed out “DiNozzo.” 

“What.” He fended off one of her hands. “What do you mean by what have I done?”

Agatha stilled and frowned. “You really don't know?”

He shook his head.

“Introduce me to your friends first.” She smiled sweetly and Jethro relented.

He introduced her to Kate first. Kate was polite and shook Agatha’s hand. McGee was next, he was looking a little nauseous but he managed to say he was pleased to meet her.

Abby and Agatha hit it off right away, both complementing each other's appearances. He hadn’t really thought about it but Abby was a lot like Agatha in a way. From their energetic nature, to ridiculously high heeled boots, and dark wardrobe.

He saved Tony for last. He was nervous. It was like he was introducing his date to his mother. 

“Hello.” Tony said with a guarded expression. He had moved up to Jethro’s side, their shoulders brushing casually when Tony extended a hand to Agatha.

Agatha shook it, eyeing Tony with the same distrust and curiosity.

“You’re very Sarah Jessica Parker in  _ Hocus Pocus. _ ” 

Jethro almost rolled his eyes. He knew Tony was testing the waters with some movie reference.

“I hope it's because you think I'm pretty.” Agatha said.

Jethro was shocked. Since when did she keep up with pop culture?

Tony smiled sharply and brushed Jethro’s shoulder again. Agatha tracked his movements with her eyes and Jethro suddenly felt like he was stuck in the middle of some kind of turf war.

“Your name has been mentioned all over, you have a bounty on your head.” Agatha said bringing back the subject at hand.

“A bounty?” Abby asked, worry evident in her tone.

“We should talk in a more private setting,” Agatha ordered more than suggested, giving a sympathetic smile to Abby.

“Whatever you say now can be said in front of my team.”

Agatha’s forehead wrinkled at the blatant disregard of her order.

In a way he was shocked he hadn’t agreed with her. A lot had changed over the last twelve years, and his team was his family. They needed to be here.

She took off her coat and laid it on the back of the recliner. He was surprised to see her wearing a simple pair of blue jeans and a green peasant top. The only thing that was recognizable from before were the thigh high boots that made her even taller than Tony.

A lot had certainly changed.

“Sarah came to my house a few days ago, under secrecy of course.” 

Jethro didn’t understand. 

“Why would Sarah need to sneak around?”

Agatha pulled a face, her lips pursing. 

“The rebellion.”

The last he’d heard of the rebellion, it was just a myth.

“I’m so confused.” Kate told Jethro as if it was his fault.

“Me too.” He said bitterly. His own stubbornness was catching up with him and he had no clue what rebellion was happening or why he had a bounty on his head from one of the most powerful witch families. It was one thing to have Fiona obsessing over him but another to have a _bounty_ out for him.

Agatha let out a heavy sigh. 

“Everyone better sit down, what I have to explain is long.” She gave a pointed look and everyone scrambled to sit, except for Jethro who leaned against the fireplace.

“Back when Jethro was my familiar, our High Priestess Ramona became seriously ill. She died a few months before Jethro left. The family that took over was, of course, the de la Barthe’s. At first it was fine, Grenadine had similar political beliefs as the last High Priestess, but her daughter, Fiona, manipulated her mother.”

Jethro nodded. He had been around for this much.

“The rebellion was talked about in only certain circles, once Fiona gained control of her mother people were getting screwed left and right. But she’s extremely powerful and a rebellion would be suicide.” He affirmed.

“The rebellion talk started increasing about five years ago when it was brought to light that the High Priestess Ramona had been poisoned. She had died in her six hundreds so everyone just chalked it up to an earlier than expected death, but someone released the medical records one night, and by next morning the news had taken the world by storm.”

Agatha suddenly looked ashamed and sad. She beckoned Jethro forward with her finger, and when he was within distance she grabbed his hand and held it tightly.

“I hid something from you, it’s part of the reason why Fiona has a bounty on you, why she's so drawn to you.”

He could feel dread swirling in his stomach and Agatha’s reassuring grip did nothing to calm him.

“Three years ago the rebellion became an actual thing, groups of people started raiding and attacking the castle. One of their leaders was Sarah, that’s why when she came to my house she had to be hidden. They found a wooden box, deep down in the dungeons of the castle, but it was heavily charmed. About a week ago they finally unlocked it.” Agatha took a deep breath and motioned for Jethro to sit down. 

He shook his head no, staring her down, waiting for what she would say next.

“I always had my suspicions, you took to your use of magik faster than any other familiar. You were in so much pain, way too much pain, for the bonding ritual. You have your own magical smell.”

Jethro was feeling a little light-headed. God, he was never this weak unless it came to his familiar side. 

“I lied to you about human familiars having their own magik smell. That coffee smell is all you.”

Jethro stopped holding Agatha’s hand, and just let his hand stay limp in her hold.

“Inside the box was information about your mother, Ann. She was to be named the next High Priestess after Ramona, and if she was dead or unable to, then her next of kin would take her place.”

Jethro swore for a moment that he was going to have a heart attack, it wasn’t uncommon for a fifty year old men to get it. He wondered if maybe having the heart attack would stop whatever the hell was coming out of Agatha’s mouth.

“Your mother was a witch, which makes you a halfling, that’s why Fiona wants you.”

_______________________________________

Tony wanted to rush after Jethro when his lover - or soon to be lover? - had bolted from the room, but he was too stunned.

The others were still processing what was happening and Tony had millions of questions rushing through his head.

There was an awkward tension that no one seemed to want to break. Tony reflected on what had been said. So Jethro was a half witch, and thinking back to what Jethro had said earlier, being a halfling was a terrible thing. So why would Fiona want him?

“If being a halfling is such a terrible thing, then why does she want Gibbs?” Tony asked cutting the tension.

Agatha regarded him for a moment and he noticed she had one yellow eye and one green eye, the same shade as Jethro’s had been in the observation room.

“Normally being a halfling is bad, but it’s quite the opposite for a witch. If anything, a half witch is even more powerful than a pure witch. With Jethro also being a familiar, there’s no way to know how powerful he actually is.”

Agatha walked over to the fireplace and with a flick of her hand had a warm fire going.

“Fiona’s side has been losing against the rebellion recently. She will want Jethro on her side to win.”

“He would never join Fiona.” McGee said vehemently, surprising Tony. McGee had been quiet this entire time and Tony had wondered if maybe this was all too much for the younger man.

“Not unless it was against his will.” Agatha crossed her arms over her chest and frowned into the fire.

“When I first met him, I sensed an untapped power in him, I thought it was just his  _ gift _ , that it had developed to be more powerful than other  _ gifted  _ people. I saw the signs and completely ignored it. There hasn’t been a half witch for maybe a 500 years and none nearly as powerful as Jethro in twice as long.” Her frown deepened as she looked towards the group of agents.  “There’s something else, Fiona has put a bounty on all of you as well.”

“Why?” Kate asked.

“You’re associated with Jethro. She’ll use you as a bargaining piece to get Jethro on her side. She always knew that Jethro was special since she first met him, and now she has real reason for him to be with her. She will stop at nothing to get him. I suggest you stay close to Jethro and I so we can protect you.” 

“We wouldn’t leave Gibbs even if we weren’t in danger!...how much danger are we in? seeing as we have a bounty on our heads as well...” Abby trailed off.

“I would suggest staying here, and taking time off work.” Was all Agatha said.

“That’s impossible.” Kate said. “We’re all on the same major case response team, we can’t just not all show up to work. And Abby is the forensic scientists for all the teams, she has a lot of people depending on her.” 

Agatha stared at the fireplace once more in thought.

“If you insist, I can let three of you return to work. One of you will need to stay to help me prepare the house for any attacks. Jethro will need to train to learn how to fully use his witch powers so he will be unable to help me. “

“I’ll do it.” Tony volunteered.

He didn’t one hundred percent trust this lady, and staying by Jethro’s side was his top priority.

“This will give you a chance to take the reigns Kate.” He smirked, knowing how much she wanted to be able to go above his head ever since they’d met. She would now be the agent in charge since Jethro and he wouldn’t be in the office.

Kate smiled at the news.

“I need all of you to stay here tonight so I can keep you all protected.”

Tony had a sudden thought of being able to share a bed with Jethro and he hid his blush by subtly turning his head away from the group. 

“What about sleeping arrangements, we don’t have anything.” McGee said.

“There’s a guest bedroom upstairs, and the couch down here pulls out. And you’ll be fine sleeping in your boxers probie” Tony said.

“And you know this how?” Kate smirked

“I stayed here before you know.” He protested. “Remember the flood at my apartment?”

“I will be up all night preparing the spells for the house and for you. Tony, why don’t you come help me gather some ingredients in the kitchen?”

Tony nodded, unsure what ingredients for a protection spell could possibly be in the kitchen, but he followed her anyways.

When they entered the kitchen, Agatha slid the door shut and Tony instantly knew that this was just an excuse to get him alone.

“You’re close with Jethro.” She stated.

“You could say that.” Tony replied, feeling the need to cross his arms over his chest and take a defensive position, but he resisted and kept his hands at his sides.

“I can tell you don’t like me, but I need someone who will be able to help Jethro and I. Someone he can trust that will always have his back during a fight.”

Tony raised an eyebrow. “What are you getting at?”

“Jethro and I parted after the worst thing that could ever happen to anyone. Jethro was distraught and angry and he blamed me, and in a way I am to be blamed. But we’re both stubborn and instead of apologizing and working through things we lost each other for twelve years. I kept him as my familiar because I can never choose another one again. After Sylvia, my first familiar died, I was devastated. I wanted to kill myself. Jethro saved me and for that I am always in his debt.”

She paused and extended an ebony hand over to Tony.

“I am no longer what he needs, and I must face that. You on the other hand, I can tell you will be good for him. I want to propose to you an idea, you don’t have to answer straight away, but you should know by tomorrow morning.”

A small coin appeared in her hand.

“I want you to become his familiar.”

Tony looked at her shocked. 

“He is going to need one, and I don’t see him matching with any random cat or owl.”

She looked down at the coin and back up at him.

“This was his mother's.” She pointed out the sigil engraved on the coin, then said, “This is his witches sigil. If you accept, this sigil will mark his and your own skin during the bonding ritual.”

Tony delicately took it from her and swallowed.

“Now I need to talk to Jethro, run along upstairs and he will be up shortly.”

She waved her hands at him in a shooing motion and he quickly left the kitchen, with her at his heels. As she went down to the basement - no surprise that’s where Jethro had fled to - Tony said goodnight to Kate and Abby who were setting up the pullout bed and headed upstairs.

He avoided the usual creaky steps and headed first to the bathroom. He did his business and put some toothpaste on the toothbrush he’d left the last time he’d stayed over. Once he was done he took a quick inventory of himself. 

His breath smelled nice now so there was no worry of bad breath. He smelled under his arms and came upon nothing but a faint smell of deodorant. He fumbled a little with his hair, trying to style it but it was useless. He rolled his eyes in the mirror for how fussy he was being.

He doubted Jethro would even notice if he styled his hair differently.

He exited the bathroom and walked by the guest bedroom, giving a wave goodnight to McGee.

“Where are you sleeping ?” McGee asked, taking off his socks. 

“Gibbs’ bed is big enough for two.” Tony said with a casual shrug.

McGee made a face but then just shrugged to himself and closed the door to the guest room. Tony walked into the master bedroom, flicking on the light switch so he could see.

It was spacious, with just a queen size bed, two night stands, a wardrobe, and a desk with a lamp on it. 

It was also tidy, as Tony had expected it would be. Tony first took off his shirt and folded it neatly. He did the same with his pants. He placed them on a chair in the corner of the room, and then placed his belt, wallet, and badge on top of that.

He felt slightly naked in just his boxers and an idea struck him.

He walked over to the wardrobe, and after looking through some drawers, pulled on a grey, soft, and worn NIS sweatshirt. It didn’t fit him as loosely as it would fit Jethro but it comfy none-the-less. 

He took a moment to think about what he should do about his gun. He finally settled on putting it in the top drawer of the nightstand furthest from the door. 

It was then he remembered the coin Agatha had given him. He walked over to the chair and pulled said coin out of his pants pocket, and looked at it.

The sigil was very simple, but he knew that this was Jethro’s connection to his mother so he didn't complain that it wasn't as elegant and swirly as the one on Jetro’s thigh.

He put it back in his pants pocket and walked back over to the bed, figuring he'd give the coin to Jethro in the morning.

He slid under the covers and waited patiently for his lover.

He smiled to himself, he could definitely get used to that idea. 


	5. A Warning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we're almost halfway done with the outline I have for this : ) Thank you to everyone for the Kudos, I appreciate it because I feel like this ship doesn't get much traction but I couldn't resist. This is a short chapter but I'm going to try to make sure the others are longer.
> 
> Warning: sexual content

Jethro stood at the foot of his bed and stared down at the body sleeping in it.

He’d forgotten to close the blinds this morning so a mixture of moonlight and the street light outside his window lit up the room well enough for him to see Tony’s blissed out sleep face; one muscular thigh draped over the covers, his spiked up hair.

Had it really been just this morning? All of this had happened in one day?

He found himself shaking his head in disbelief and stopped.

He ran his tongue over his teeth, taking in the minty taste, and contemplated what he should do right now.

Agatha had found him about half an hour after he’d stormed out. She’d helped him sand the boat for a bit before she went through everything that had happened upstairs.

Jethro had snorted when Agatha told him Tony had volunteered.

She had taken interest in that reaction, and before sending him upstairs she’d mentioned that Tony was good for him. 

He didn’t believe that he and Tony had shown any obvious signs that they were attracted to each other, but then again Agatha knew things about him that he necessarily didn’t know about himself.

He shucked off his clothing, and put away his polo and pants in their respective drawers, leaving him in boxers and his undershirt.

When searching for the NIS sweater he usually slept in came up with nothing, he opted for just staying in his undershirt. He pulled on some black sweatpants and headed over to the bed. He pulled back the covers and got in so he was facing Tony.

He recognized the sweater he’d been looking for was on Tony’s body and he grinned. He’d always had a thing for his significant other wearing his clothing.

Not wanting to wake Tony, he debated moving any closer, but he didn’t want Tony in his bed an arms length away, so he slowly scooched over and pulled Tony to him so now Tony’s head was tucked into Jethro’s neck. 

The younger man made a noise of content and the leg that had been outside the covers went under and intertwined with Jethro’s legs.

Soon half of Tony’s body was draped over Jethro’s and he was snuggled tightly against the marine.

Jethro’s mind was still racing, and he couldn’t get himself to fall asleep, not without lack of trying. He was quite close to trying to count sheep when Tony’s breathing changed, announcing that he was awake.

“You’re thinking too much.” Tony grumbled, tilting his head up to give Jethro’s chin a quick kiss, before snuggling back into the curve of Jethro’s neck.

Jethro turned his head so his nose was buried in Tony’s hair, and tried to will away everything that was keeping him awake.

Maybe he should have offered to help Agatha with the protection spells. But she had said that he needed to rest up for tomorrow, and that she had learned to work better alone.

For not the first time that day, guilt had crept into his gut. He had noticed there was no new familiar that had arrived with Agatha, and there had been no mention of one throughout the talk by the boat.

Tony grumbled again and moved the arm that was resting on Jethro’s chest further down.

The older man took a sharp intake of breath as Tony’s hand came to rest on the waistband of his sweatpants.

“I have a way to get your mind to quiet down.” Tony’s husky voice traveled all the way to Jethro’s cock, and it twitched with excitement.

Tony sucked gently on the spot behind Jethro’s ear and moved his body so he was hovering over Jethro, trapping the older NCIS agent underneath him.

“Tony.” He hissed as the lips pulled away from behind his ear and down to his collarbone.

“Shh. We don’t want the others to hear.” Tony said cheekily, tugging down Jethro’s sweatpants impatiently with one hand, while the other was bent at the elbow holding him up.

Jethro rolled his eyes, and gave Tony a head smack. 

“I know that.” He said sharply. That’s precisely why we shouldn’t do-”

He was cut off when Tony’s hand reached under his boxers and holy shit he hadn’t hardened this fast since his younger years. 

He arched his back and in doing so, brushed his erection against Tony, causing the other man to whine.

“God, the things you do to me. Do you know how long I’ve wanted you?” Tony asked, his hand started stroking Jethro’s cock tantalizingly slow and Jethro growled.

“I think it was our first Christmas together, when I realized how much I wanted your cock inside me.” 

Oh lord, Tony was a dirty talker. 

With strength he didn’t need to use his powers for, Jethro flipped them over so he was on top of Tony. He kicked his sweatpants - that had settled around his knees - off and held Tony’s hands firmly above the man’s head.

He let his instincts take the wheel as his mouth met Tony’s mouths, hardly letting the man breathe. With each brush of their tongues, and press of lips, Jethro could feel his cock hardening even more, and his boxers began to feel wet.

Jethro bucked his hips and stifled a cry when he rubbed against Tony’s erection again.

“Do it again.” Tony whispered, struggling against Jethro’s hold and lifting his hips up impatiently.

“You’re going to do exactly what I tell you.” Jethro gave Tony another kiss, this time gentle enough to convey what he was really feeling for his younger agent.

Tony nodded, looking up at Jethro with dilated eyes.

“I’m going to let go of your hands, but your going to keep them up there, understand?”

Tony nodded again, biting his lip in anticipation.

Jethro did as he said he would, and then slid down the length of Tony’s body so he was face to face with the impressive tenting of Tony’s boxers.

“ You were saying something about me putting my cock inside you.” Jethro smirked up at Tony with hooded eyes.

“I know you want me to fuck you hard, fill you up.”

Tony wriggled and Jethro placed a steadying hand on Tony’s hip.

Oh yes, two could play this game.

Jethro took a moment to get serious. As badly as he wanted to have sex with Tony tonight, it didn’t feel like the right time.

“We’ll get to that later, I promise. But right now I’m just going to suck you off.” 

Jethro pulled Tony’s boxers down and gave a tentative lick to the underside of Tony’s cock. He made sure that the pressure he was putting on Tony’s hips was enough to keep him down, then took Tony’s cock fully into his mouth.

Tony’s pre-cum and natural taste mixed in Jethro’s mouth and he hummed deep in his throat in appreciation.

Tony reached a hand down to tug at Jethro’s hair, but the other man slapped his hand away. 

“What did I tell you?” Jethro said, withdrawing from Tony’s cock.

The younger man whined at the loss of contact but obediently moved his hand back to its former position. 

Jethro returned to Tony’s cock, swirling his tongue around the head, before sliding his mouth up and down the shaft. He sucked deeply, and pulled off Tony’s dick with a wet ‘pop’ noise. He tilted his head and licked at Tony’s balls, loving the needy sounds that each lick drew out of Tony.

He nuzzled against the soft brown hair, taking in the fresh and sweet smell that was just Anthony DiNozzo.  Taking one hand off Tony’s hip, he pushed down his own boxers and began stroking his own erection.  Tony came into his mouth a few moments later after Jethro had thoroughly sucked Tony’s cock. Jethro jerked his own-self off faster and harder and came a few seconds after Tony.

He wanted to just stay in bed, but he knew they’d be sticky and gross later so he reluctantly got up and took their soiled boxers and put them in the simple wicker hamper that was next to the chair where their clothing was.

He took out a red terry cloth robe from the way back of the wardrobe and put it on. Shannon had gotten it for him for one of their wedding anniversaries, and while he normally didn’t wear it, he didn’t have the heart to donate it.

He crept out of the room, hoping no one had to use the bathroom. He took a washcloth out of the bathroom closet and let the faucet run until it was nice and warm. He opened the robe and cleaned himself off. He ran it back under the water for a good length of time before returning to the bedroom and cleaning off Tony.

He put the robe back in the wardrobe and put the dirty washcloth in the hamper. He returned to the wardrobe and grabbed two new pairs of underwear. He tossed one to Tony and put the other one on himself.

Once he was back in bed, he curled his arm underneath Tony and pulled the younger man towards him.

He gave the man a quick peck on the lips and let out a sigh of happiness when Tony cuddled closer and pressed a kiss against Jethro’s kiss.

“Night boss.” Tony whispered and he was out like a light.

“Goodnight Tony.” Jethro whispered back and let sleep carry him off.

________________________________________

Jethro woke up later than he normally would and he blamed it on the warm and comfortable effect that having Tony in his bed had on him.

It was still earlier than the rest of his team, so he used his typical marine like stealth to get ready for the day. 

He slid out of what he had worn the night before and put on a pair of jeans that were a bit snug and accentuated his ass, and a black button down. He was just putting on his watch with the slightly garish orange bezel when he realized what he was doing.

He was fucking dressing up for Tony. He hadn’t even noticed that when he’d been in the bathroom he’d even styled his hair so it looked fuller.

He rested his forehead against the door to his wardrobe and contemplated whether he should stay in this outfit or change into his usual undershirt and polo, when a pair of muscular arms wrapped around his waist.

Damn he hadn’t even heard Tony getting out of the bed he was so deep in thought about his clothing options looking too obvious he was trying to impress Tony. 

Said man was pressing his front as close to Jethro’s backside as he could and nuzzling the side of Jethro’s throat. Tony kept one hand around Jethro’s waist, and used the other to spin the older man around so they were chest to chest. 

Tony’s hair was a mess, spiked and ruffled every which way. He had a sleepy smile and he was staring at Jethro as if he was the entire world.

Jethro allowed a small smile to grace his features before leaning up and giving Tony a tender good morning kiss. Things started to get heated right away, Tony using his muscles to press Jethro against the wardrobe, and giving him a thorough kiss.

Jethro sucked on Tony’s tongue and moved his hands down to cup Tony’s ass, easily making the taller agent melt into his hold. With Tony distracted, he easily switched their positions and took control of the kiss, trapping Tony between himself and the wardrobe.

“I didn’t know you owned anything but polo’s.” Tony groaned as Jethro’s hands reached under the NIS sweater to rest against his stomach.

“Shhh…” Jethro warned, moving further up and giving an impatient noise when Tony didn’t follow Jethro’s wordless request to take off his shirt.

Tony, finally understanding what his boss wanted, quickly shucked off the shirt and gave a murmur of satisfaction as Jethro’s lips started sucking on one of his nipples. He played a little with the hair at Jethro’s nape, giving little tugs whenever Jethro’s tongue flicked his nipple just right, or when Jethro’s teeth grazed against the hard nub.

Jethro gave each nipple the same treatment. His hand tweaked and massaged the nipple that wasn’t in his mouth and he could easily feel Tony’s cock hardening against his.

He moved down Tony’s body, one hand still playing with Tony’s hardened buds, while the other grabbed onto Tony’s hip to steady himself as he got on his knees.

“Boss?” Tony squeaked, his hands hovering unsure over Jethro’s head.

Without breaking eye contact, Jethro pulled down the underwear and took Tony’s cock all the way into his mouth, making the younger man moan in pure bliss.

He started slow, hardly even moving his mouth as he bobbed his head up and down. Tony cursed and placed a shaky hand on Jethro’s head.

Jethro added his tongue and began bobbing faster, sucking and tonguing Tony’s shaft with viger.

Tony’s eyes were shut and his grip tightened in Jethro’s hair. 

Tony gave a sharper tug and Jethro pulled away, looking up in question at Tony.

“I...I want you to kiss me again.” Tony said bashfully, which made another jut of arousal travel down to his cock.

Jethro got off his knees -- ignoring the pain from his bad knee -- and kissed Tony. Tony smiled into the kiss, making it a little harder for Jethro to kiss him.

“I’m sorry, it’s just. I’ve waited so long.” Tony said breathlessly. He pulled Jethro to him and held on tightly. Jethro was unsure what to do for a moment before holding Tony back just as tightly.

“I promise I’m not normally such a girl.” Tony said.

Jethro slapped the back of his head and then kissed him tenderly. 

They both ended up finishing each other off with hand jobs. The other members in the house were starting to move around and as much as Jethro didn’t care if any one of them found out about him and Tony, he knew the younger agent would want to keep it secret for a while.

He cleaned them both off and left Tony to get dressed. 

When he walked into the kitchen, the table and parts of his counters were covered by spellbooks and bowls filled with pastes he couldn’t even recognize.

“I’m taking extra precaution.” Agatha said, coming out of his pantry with her arms filled with ingredients.

He peeked inside and saw she’d stocked the pantry with enough food to feed an army, he knew that if he checked his cupboards or fridge the case would be the same. 

“I made charms for your friends, and yourself and I. I put a disarming charm on the house and spent most of the night putting up wards around the perimeter of the house.” Agatha nudged a bowl over with her elbow to drop all her ingredients down and pointed to a clear space of counter by the oven.

“I left you a space to make breakfast.”

Jethro bit back a bitter remark and went over to the fridge. He pulled out bread, milk, eggs and fruit and got to work on making french toast.

By the time he’d set the table and set out the french toast, syrup, sugar, and bowl of mixed fruit; raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, and orange slices, everyone was already seated, excluding him and Agatha.

Agatha helped him bring in a pitcher of mango juice and coffee, and they all dug in. 

“I want everyone to continue work as if nothing is happening out of the ordinary. Kate I'm leaving you in charge. Both you and McGee try to get cases that can worked remotely or need less time in the field, lessens the chances of something happening.

Kate and Mcgee nodded in unison. He then directed his attention to Abby. 

“You just keep doing what you do best Abs.” He smiled at her.

She nodded her head so hard, her pigtails went flying. 

Once everyone had finished, he sent them off to work, deaf to their protests about helping clean up. He assured them that he, Tony, and Agatha had it covered. They promised to keep him in the loop, and with one last kiss on the cheek from Abby, they were gone.

“This would be a good time to start practicing your magik.” Agatha said, placing a hand on his wrist as his hand reached for McGee’s plate.

He gave her a look as to convey that he wanted to finish cleaning up everything, but she motioned Tony forward and he seamlessly transitioned from hovering around to cleaning up the other plates left behind by his co-workers.

Jethro followed after her to the backyard, not bothering to hide his sigh. He saw out of the corner of his eye that Tony was trying to nonchalantly watch them as they left, and he felt himself warm at the thought of the younger man worrying about him.

They stood in the backyard and Jethro took in the warmer weather. It had been colder as of late, but the weather was usually fickle around this time of year so having a random warm day wasn’t surprising, and was quite welcoming.

“The first thing we are going to do is focus on your energy. You have only been accessing half of your powers as my familiar.” 

“You mean we’re starting from scratch?” Jethro grimaced, remembering the long and grueling training he’d had in his youth.

“No, and don’t give me lip.” Agatha said crossly. Jethro apologized and she accepted it with a haughty look.

“This isn’t something that’s done by the books. Transitioning from a familiar to a witch has never been heard of.” Agatha paused and looked unsure for a moment. “I’m not entirely sure what will happen to you once you tap into your full powers.”

“That’s reassuring.” Tony’s voice came from behind them. He was standing on the porch with a dish towel draped over his shoulder.

“He’ll be safe.” Agatha’s voice was filled with a certainty that warmed Jethro, but made Tony even more worried.

“Do you have a general idea at least of what will happen?” Tony asked.

Agatha took in the younger mans worried stance and made her expression more gentle. 

“Because a witch lives longer than a human, the first thing that will happen is Jethro will appear younger physically. He will also have more energy, strength.”

Jethro smiled. He liked the sound of that. Tony did too apparently because he was looking at Jethro with new found interest.

“His familiar form will vanish.” Agatha’s took on a sadder tone and Jethro resisted the urge to try and comfort her. “He will be like me, but not exactly.” She sighed and walked over to a brown bench in front of a little garden Jethro had been working on, and sat down on it.

“As a half witch, he may become stronger or weaker than an average witch. I know I said that half witches were normally more powerful than a full witch but it's really a dicey process because sometimes the more human side wins. It's rare but it could happen,” she pursed her lips.

“But I sense a lot of power coming from you, Fiona did too, so you definitely are more powerful than either of us. The student becomes the master.” She looked over at Tony - who unconsciously touched his back pocket - making Jethro curious to what that was about but Agatha moved the conversation forward.

“Let’s get right into it then shall we?” Agatha stood up and made Jethro sit down in the same spot she had just been.

Just as he sat down there was a high pitched noise that made Tony sink to the ground, his face contorted in pain. Jethro rushed to catch him before he fell completely onto the grass and covered the younger man’s ears, which seemed to help his distress a little.

Two large Ravens appeared on the bench just as the high pitched noise stopped. Jethro eyed them wearily, and moved his hands down to rest on his younger agent’s shoulders.

A scroll was wrapped around one of the Ravens necks, and Agatha hesitantly untied it and handed it to Jethro. The Ravens were gone the minute he opened it, and he read over the blood red ink.

“It’s a warning.” Agatha stated.

Jethro nodded, squinting at the text, trying to decipher it.

“You’ll be able to fully read it once you’ve become a witch.” Agatha explained, coming around his side to read what it said. 

“Definitely from Fiona, you can smell her all over the scroll.” Agatha wrinkled her nose.

_ “Give him to me by the end of the week, or he will have no one to protect.” _

Jethro felt his blood run cold. 

“She’s seriously going to threaten us with that?” Agatha snarled, ripping the scroll up. Jethro looked up at her shocked, not expecting her to be so much angrier than he. 

“It’s not that shocking, she seemed possessive from the moment I met her.”

“She’ll kill your mailman if they so much as smiled at you.” Agatha said bitterly and they both watched silently as the pieces of paper fell onto the grass. Agatha lifted up her foot and stomped down on the closest pieces for good measure. 

“It’d be nice if you guys would acknowledge that I’m still here.” Tony said with a raised eyebrow and Jethro winced, helping Tony into a better sitting position. The younger agent still seemed a little dazed from the high pitched noise but he was still trying to make the situation better. “I’d probably be next in line if the mailman smiled at Jeth- ok not the time to be joking about that huh?” Tony sheepishly smiled after taking in their expressions. He settled back against Jethro, causing the older man to shift his weight so he could support all of Tony’s weight.

“Maybe we should wait-”

“We will do no such thing.” Agatha snapped and Jethro felt his anger rise, the kind that came from deep in his gut when he was talking to Shepard or a particularly nasty marine in interrogation. Once he would have never talked back to Agatha. Once, he would have rushed to abide to her every word. But 12 years had gone by and he wasn’t the type of man anymore to take orders from anyone without a fight.

He opened his mouth, ready to tell her exactly what he thought. He noticed her eyes widen at her surprise at his attempt to disagree but he never got a word out as Tony nudged him not to subtly in the ribs.

“I think...” Tony waited til both eyes were trained on him before he continued speaking. “..I think we should wait, but just to make sure it's safe. She’s shaken us all up and I’m not ashamed to admit that, so let’s go back inside, maybe watch a movie on that relic you call a tv, or make some more potions or play a game of scrabble. Just something. And then we can come back out here in a few hours feeling better.” Tony’s words were coming out fast as he tried to appease the two, trying not to add to the tension.

“A few more hours won’t hurt.” He whispered.

Agatha and Jethro exchanged a look and the tall woman gave a sigh before gesturing back to the house.

“I can make some lemonade and we’ll play scrabble.” She said it while staring directly at Jethro, as if daring him to go up against her again.

He probably would have if Tony hadn’t started to try and get up. If he wasn’t so wrapped around the jr agent’s finger. If only Tony wasn’t the best negotiator on his team with his charm and his ability to know compromise.

Even if this didn’t really feel like a compromise. He wasn’t Tony. While Tony was as locked up as Jethro was on certain subjects, he was mostly open. He hadn’t shaken the habit of oversharing - not that Jethro would ever want him too - and could be like an open book when he wanted to be. Tony was fine admitting he’d been shaken up by Fiona, but Jethro couldn’t. If he admitted it, then it felt like that bitch had won. 

Still, he acquiesced to Tony’s need to settle the tension between the witch and familiar and he helped them both up, his knee cracking in protest as soon as they both straightened up.

“Come on boss.” Tony smirked and grabbed Jethro’s hand. “I’m gonna kick your ass in scrabble.”

Jethro let the younger man pull him into the house but didn’t try and contain his smile, even when Agatha snorted in amusement behind him.


End file.
